| Summary: | Background: The first 24 months of a child's life are now recognised to be crucial for later growth and development. We evaluated a community-based parenting programme targeting relevant practices in northern, rural Uganda.
Methods: A randomised cluster design, with baseline and endline measurements, was used to evaluate a parenting programme in Lira, Uganda. Intervention caregivers of children aged 12–36 months attended 12 bimonthly group sessions, led by a peer educator, which focused on hygiene, nutrition, psychosocial stimulation, and maternal care. The main outcome variable was Bayley III cognitive and receptive language development. Secondary outcomes included dietary diversity, HOME stimulation, and maternal depressive symptoms and perceived spousal support. Ethics approval was received from Mbarara and McGill Universities. This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01906606.
Findings: A total of 319 mother–child dyads were enrolled across 12 clusters; 291 dyads (91·2%, 160 intervention and 131 control) completed the parenting programme and endline assessment. At endline, children of intervention parents compared with controls had significantly higher mean Bayley cognitive scores (58·9 vs 55·7, d=0·35, 95% CI 0·11–0·58) and higher receptive language scores (23·9 vs 22·4, d=0·23, 0·00–0·46). The intervention also had significant effects on improving parenting practices including HOME scores (30·9 vs 26·5, d=1·08, 95% CI 0·83 to 1·33), dietary diversity (3·47 vs 3·03, d=0·52, 0·29 to 0·76), reducing maternal depressive symptoms (15·3 vs 18·6, d=–0·29, −0·52 to −0·05), and improving perceived positive support from spouses (5·2 vs 4·5, d=0·26, 0·01 to 0·51).
Interpretation: Parenting programmes can improve child development and maternal wellbeing in rural settings with low and middle income.
Funding: Plan Uganda.
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